Receptacle-closure.



D. BLOOM.

RECEPTACLE CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16. um.

1,1 59,825. Patentd Nov. 9, 1915.

Dav 0 Elma/q WITNESSES 41 ATTORNEYS.

DAVID BLOOM, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

RECEPTACLE-CLOSURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

Application filed April 16, 1914. Serial No. 832,211.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, DAVID BLOOM, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of Berkeley, county of Alameda, andState of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Receptacle-Closures, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in closures for receptacles suchas jars, bottles and the like, in which fruit, vegetables or otherproducts are to be preserved or contained.

The object of the invention is to provide a closure which willhermetically seal the receptacle and prevent the air from coming intocontact with the material contained therein.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a closure forreceptacles which is held to its seat by a resilient element attached tothe closure and engaging the side of the receptacle adjacent its mouth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a thoroughly sanitaryclosure which may be readily cleaned and from which the resilientelement may be readily removed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved means forholding the re silient element to the closure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure which may besecured to the receptacle before the products therein are processed andhas the quality of yielding slightly to allow the expanded air in thereceptacle to escape as the air'and contents expand under the action ofheat during the processing operation.

The invention possesses other advantageous features which, with theforegoing, will be set forth at length in the following descriptionwhere I shall outline in full that form of the invention which I haveselected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming partof the present specification. The novelty of the invention will beincluded in the claims succeeding said description. From this it will beapparent that I do not limit myself to the showing made by said drawingsand description, as I may adoptmany variations within the scope of myinvention as set forth in said claims.

Figure l is a vertical section of aijar showing the cover of myinvention attached portion of the nate the contents.

- closure is applied.

thereto. Fig. 2 is a verticalsection of a jar and closure of myinvention, taken at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 8is a perspective view of the under side of the closure of my inventionfrom which the resilient element has been removed; Fig. 4: is a planview from below of the closure of my invention. Fig. 5 is a side View ofthe resilient element which is adapted to be attached to the closure.Fig. '6 is a cross section of the resilient element.

In the method of preserving food products, by hermetically sealing themin receptacles, the products are placed in the receptacles and heated orprocessed to drive out the air, and the closures are then applied. Asthe contents and receptacle cool, the air and contents in the receptaclecontract,

thereby seating the closure more tightly and forming a partial vacuum inthe receptacle.

By the use of the closure of my invention, the receptacles are coveredand closed before the contents are processed so that the contents willnot come in contact with the steam in the heating chamber nor will thedrippings from the condensation of the steam fall into the receptaclesand contami- The closure of my invention is held to its seat by means ofa tension member or resilient element attached to the closure, so thatthe receptacle is sealed against ingress of air as soon as the Duringthe processing operation, however, the pressure in the interior of thereceptacle is increased, and this pressure raises the closure slightlyand allows the excess air to escape, so that upon cooling a partialvacuum is formed within the receptacle.

The jar or receptacle 2 with which the closure of my invention is usedis provided on its inner surface adjacent the mouth with oppositelydisposed inclined grooves 3, which open at the upper ends at the top ofthe receptacle and which are adapted to be engaged by the ends of theresilient or tension element 4: secured to the under side of the closureor cover. hen the cover is placed on the receptacle and rotated, theends of the tension element engage the inclined grooves and are forceddownward, flexing the spring or tension element and thereby holding theclosure tightly to its seat against the top of the receptacle. Ar-

ranged between the closure and the upper edge of the jar is a gasket orpacking 5, which is partially seated in an undercut annular groove 6formed wall 7, which seating prevents the gasket from falling away fromthe cover, whenthe cover is separate from the receptacle. The closure ispreferably formed of glass or other vitreous material which may bereadily cleaned after use.

Formed on the under side of the bee y portion A of the closure andpreferably centrally thereof, is a depending boss 8. which is providedwith a transverse groove 9 in which the tension member at is seated. Thegroove 9 is formed with inwardly sloping sides 12, forming a dove-tailedgroove which is wider at the base than at its open face. The sides; 12of the groove preferably meet the under surfaces of the boss 8 in smoothcurves, so that no edges are presented which might cut or chip. Theunder surfaces 13 of the boss 8 preferably'slope toward the base of thegroove to increase the effect of the curvature.

Seated in the dove-tailed groove is the tension or spring element 4.which is pr0 vided with complementarily sloping sides or edges lei, sothat it seats firmly in the groove and ma not be displaced or pulledtherefrom'when the element is placed in tension. The tension elementpreferably consists of a strip of bamboo or similar material whichpossesses the desired resilient qualities and which will not affect norcontaminate the food products within the receptacle. This bamboo stripis preferably cut away slightly at the ends so that it will readilyengage in the inclined grooves in the ar.

The groove 9 is also preferably tapered transversely. that is, the sidewalls 12 converge toward one end of the boss. so that when the properlycut bamboo strip is inserted it comes to a seat in the proper positionto properly engage the grooves in the jar when the cover is placed onthe jar. The juncture between the side walls of the groove 9 and theouter side walls of the boss 8 are preferably formed on a smooth curve,in order to strengthen that portion of the boss and prevent any chippingwhich might occur if the juncture occurred at a sharp line. The bottom15 of the groove also, preferably slopes downward toward the narrow endof the groove, forming the groove larger in both dimensions at one endthan it is at the other. The bamboo strip is also preferably tapered sothat when it is inserted in the groove it comes to its seat at theproper position.

In order to facilitate the insertion of the bamboo strip into the groove9, I have formed a wide rib 16 between the boss S and the wall 7 in linewith the groove and at the wide side thereof. The surface 17 of the ribin the depending annular is flush with the bottom of the groove and thebottom of wall 7, and by using this surface 17 as a guide, the strip maybe readily inserted in the groove. Closures of this nature are designedto be repeatedly used, season after season, and a new tension elementmay be inserted each time the closure is used in order that the pressureof the closure against the jar be insured, but I have not found this tobe necessary. lVhen the closure is removed from a filled jar, thebamboostrip. may be removed, and theclosure, since it presents no inaccessibleortions may be. readil and thorou hly cleaned.

I claim:

1. A receptacle closure comprisingbody portion, a boss on the under sideof said body portion having a dove-tail shaped tapered groove formed.therein and a resilient tapered element seated in said groove.

2-. A receptacle closure comprising, a'body portion, a boss on the underside of said body portion having a transverse groove formed therein, theside walls of said groove sloping outwardly toward the basev of saidgroove and being converging-and a resilient element seated in saidgroove.

3. Aireceptacle closure comprising abody portion, a boss on the underside of said body portion having a transverse groove formedt-hereimthe.sidewall-s of said groove being inclined and converging toward one endof the groove and said groove being shallower at the narrow end than atthe broad end and a. resilient element seated in said groove.

4:. The combination with a receptacle closure having a dove-tail shapedtapered groove in its under face, of a correspond-- ingly shapedresilient element seated in said groove.

5. Areceptacle closure comprising a body portion, a boss on the underside of said b dy-portion having a groove therein, a resilient memberadapted to be inserted in said groove, and a guide for the insertion ofsaid member.

6. A receptacle closure comprising a body portion, a boss depending fromthe .under side of said. body portion, provided with a transverse grooveand a rib on said under side having an upper face forming a cont-inuatien of the baseof said groove.

7;. A receptacle closure comprising a body portion, an annular walldepending from said bodv portion, central boss depending from said bodyportion having a transverse groove therein, and a rib between said bossand wall. the face of said rib being flush with the bottom of saidgroove and the face of'said wall.

8. A receptacle closure comprising a body portion, a boss on the underside of said body portion provided with a transverse tapered groove inits lower face and a re- 10 silient element seated in said groove andhaving its ends in engagement With said inclined grooves.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco,California, this 26th day of March 1914.

DAVID BLOOM.

In presence of- G. PRosr, .P. S. PIDWELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner 01' Patents, Washington, D. G.

